move republicans here on capitol hill called on the nation's number 2 democrat, vice president joe biden, to help in negotiations, this as the white house puts the blame on the impasse on the gop. >> they say the biggest priority is making sure we deal with the deficit in a serious way. the way they are behaving is the only priority is making sure tax breaks for the wealthiest americans are protected. >> reporter: if a deal is not reached the president wants controlled senate to introduce legislation to keep tax cuts for couples earning up to $250,000 a year and keep unemployment benefits. here is an example of the move: the house speaker's last offer was maintaining tax cuts for $1 million or more or less, rather, the president was saying it has to be $250,000 or less. now democrats numberses moved up to possibly 350,000 or $400,000, so, they are coming closer. they just are not there yet. reporting live in washington, back to you, ann. >> you talk about movement but let's say we go off of the cliff, when what happens in washington? can the new congress take action to avoid the difficul